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There you have it: Health care website is fixed

OK. The verdict now appears to be in on the effort to repair what troubled the launch of the Affordable Care Act.

That website, the one that crashed when Americans tried to sign on for health insurance, appears to be repaired. It’s working. It’s working pretty well. It can handle as many as 50,000 applications at once.

Is that the end of the debate over the ACA? Hardly.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/health-care-website-enrollment-obamacare-november-2013-100528.html

Some Republican luminaries, such as U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, say the healthcare.gov difficulties were the “least” of the troubles relating to the ACA.

Here’s my take.

The health insurance system was broken before Congress enacted the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The ACA is intended to bring insurance to an estimated 30 million Americans who don’t have it now. The website snafu was a big deal, hardly “the least” of the problems afflicting the system. Now it’s repaired. The Obama administration says more work needs to be done to make it work with maximum efficiency.

The administration pledged to fix the system when it crashed and burned at the beginning of October. It delivered on the pledge.

Now … let’s allow the program to take root.

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Drones at my door? No thank you

Allow me to toss a wet blanket on what I will acknowledge to be a truly unique idea for delivering goods to people’s homes.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, says he intends to fill the sky with commercial drones to drop products ordered through his company.

Door-to-door drones spook lawmakers

Members of Congress want to hold hearings on the idea to examine ways to protect people’s privacy.

I’m thinking they also should have hearings to ensure that the drones don’t clutter the sky with traffic that could put people’s lives in danger.

I watched the “60 Minutes” segment Sunday night when Bezos knocked Charlie Rose over with the idea of drones. I’ll admit to being floored by the idea. Then I thought a little about it.

Do we really need to launch these vehicles into the air to ensure prompt delivery of these goods? I’m wondering now if we’re taking technology a bit too far.

“As we move forward toward integrating drones into civilian life and capitalizing on the economic opportunities they offer, we must make certain that these aircraft meet rigorous safety and privacy standards,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Do you think?

I’m all for technology. Heck, I’m learning — finally — to embrace much of what many millions of others embraced long ago. There’s just something vaguely creepy, though, about unleashing these drones to deliver mail-order gifts to people’s front porch.

Just how many of them will take flight? Our airspace seems a bit crowded as it stands right now.

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Women lead the way for Democrats

Juan Williams, writing for The Hill newspaper, says that women might be the saviors for the Democratic Party.

I scanned through the piece and noticed a critical omission: no mention of Texas.

Take a look:

http://thehill.com/opinion/juan-williams/191675-juan-williams-dems-are-now-party-of-women

Williams, a frequent contributor for the Fox News Channel (as one of the network’s handful of token liberals), looks at the rise across the nation of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and of course former first lady/Sen./Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

These all are legitimate powerhouses on the national political stage.

However, out here in Texas there is another possible surge in the making — courtesy of women.

State Sens. Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte are running for Texas governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. They both are being seen by the state Democratic establishment as being critical to their party’s possible resurgence.

Is it probable? Well, many experts around Texas don’t think so. Republicans have cemented their grip on the state’s political infrastructure. They occupy every statewide office and they keep winning with impressive margins. The state has gone through a fundamental political personality transformation since, oh, about 1978, when it elected its first GOP governor since Reconstruction. It’s been downhill ever since for the Texas Democratic Party.

Davis and Van de Putte, though, represent two key constituencies that Democrats will need. Women — of course — and Hispanics, given Van de Putte’s ethnic heritage. The Hispanic vote remains solidly Democratic in Texas, although Gov. Rick Perry has fared well among that group of voters in recent election cycles. Perry, though, is not running. That creates a significant opening for Hispanic activists to get out the vote.

The female vote centers on abortion rights. The Texas GOP has enacted strict rules prohibiting a woman’s right end a pregnancy. That battle in the Legislature propelled Davis to the national stage earlier this year. Davis certainly cannot run on that issue alone, but the passion she stirred among women across the state could serve as a key driver in her bid to become governor next year.

I am not predicting a victory for Democrats next year. I am hopeful, though, that renewed interest in the two Democratic candidates at the top of the state’s ballot can create buzz among voters and deliver a lively campaign that requires Republicans to explain themselves as they campaign across the state.

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Gerald Ford: right man, right time

The columnist David Shribman takes note of an anniversary that few people will remember.

I must say this one got by me, but I am glad Shribman wrote this essay commemorating the 40th anniversary of the confirmation of Vice President Gerald Rudolph Ford.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/12/01/the_steady_hand_of_gerald_ford_120822.html

The date will arrive on Friday.

It should be noted that an embattled President Richard Nixon made many correct decisions during his time in office, right along with some horrendous ones. Selecting the then-House minority leader to become vice president was among the best decisions of Nixon’s presidency.

Spiro Agnew had quit in disgrace. He ended up pleading no contest to bribery charges. Nixon looked high and low for a suitable replacement. He found it in Ford.

As Shribman notes, Ford was one of 17 men to ascend from vice president to president. Of course, Ford’s place in history is unique, given that he never was elected to either position. He would become vice president on Dec. 6, 1973 and then, on Aug. 9, 1974, he would take the oath of office as the 38th president of the United States.

Gerald Ford healed the nation ravaged by scandal. Yes, he stirred up a terrible controversy a month into his presidency when he pardoned Nixon. He was criticized roundly for that action. I remember, though, how the late Sen. Edward Kennedy — one of Ford’s harshest critics at the time of the pardon — admitted to the error of that criticism as he issued the former president a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2001. “Mr. President, I was wrong,” Kennedy said to Ford.

President George H.W. Bush called Ford a “Norman Rockwell painting come to life,” in remarks at Ford’s funeral.

Fate came calling one day four decades ago and the nation was blessed to have had Gerald Ford on hand to heal its wounds.

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I’m now calling myself ‘retired’

This is the latest in an occasional series of blogs commenting on retirement.

I made a decision this weekend that involves my immediate future.

I’ve decided to say that I’m retired — even though I’m still working, sort of.

The decision came from a Facebook notice that popped up. It asked me to update my employment status. I clicked on the “retired” box and then saved it. So now my Facebook profile has me listed as “retired,” although I later — at my wife’s suggestion — entered “blogger” along with it. So it says I’m a “retired blogger.”

This is a big deal in my evolution from working guy to fully retired guy.

I’m working part-time for an auto dealership here in Amarillo. It’s a customer service job; I work about 24 hours a week. My job is to welcome folks who bring their vehicles in for service or who are waiting while they purchase a vehicle. I make them feel comfortable, offer them something to drink or eat, ask if they need a ride somewhere, talk them up a little bit.

The job is so much fun I have a hard time calling it actual “work.” I spend my afternoon with individuals I like in an environment that produces little pressure. My employer asks me simply to treat people with courtesy and respect, which I am able to do.

I have another job. I write a blog for Panhandle PBS’s website. Panhandle PBS is the new name for the site for KACV-TV, the public television station based at Amarillo College. It’s a free-lance gig and, too, is a serious blast. I write about public affairs programming at Panhandle PBS/KACV. I also write about other public policy issues as I see fit. I submit the blogs — titled “A Public View” — as drafts and they’re posted by the staff at KACV.

Check it out here:

http://panhandlepbs.org/news/

So, those are my jobs. They are more fun than I can possibly have imagined having.

My wife says it well. I am getting paid for doing something I love to do: talk to people and write.

Social Security is still down the road a bit. When that income kicks in, then I’ll be able to declare myself officially and fully “retired.”

For now, I’ll settle on pretending to be retired. I’ll get lots of practice. Who knows? When the day arrives, I’ll be proficient in all that retirement entails.

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Healthcare.gov is fixed … or is it?

The White House says the Affordable Care Act website is working better than before.

Is it good enough yet? Well, that remains to be seen.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/12/01/officials_healthcaregov_making_strides_120823.html

One can presume that President Obama’s critics will keep looking for every possible glitch to toss back at the president. The heathcare.gov website had been rolled out in early October, only to crash and burn in front of our eyes. The Obama administration brought in some high-powered computer geniuses to fix the site.

Today, the site is back up and reportedly is working a lot better than before, which really isn’t saying much, given the disastrous opening.

The administration is trying to caution us that there remains a lot more work to do to get Americans enrolled in a health insurance plan of their choosing. It’s better than before.

Do not expect, though, that those who want to get rid of the ACA will accept any improvement as being sufficient. They hate the law. They want it repealed.

I’m still waiting, though, to hear what they will introduce in ACA’s place.

Meanwhile, let’s allow the work on this website to continue. As former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would tell you, the state from which the ACA was conceived had its rollout problems too. The Bay State got it fixed. Can’t we give the feds the same opportunity to make it right?

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Hold the crime-fighter ads, AG candidates

I’ll be waiting during the next few months for someone running for Texas attorney general to pop off one of those “tough on crime” spots.

Then I will be mortified.

The Texas Tribune has an interesting story about three leading Republicans running for the GOP nomination for state attorney general. The guy who’s in the job now, Greg Abbott, is giving it up to run for Texas governor.

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/01/primary-race-attorney-general-slowly-taking-shape/

The three leading Republicans are Barry Smitherman, who is now serving on the Railroad Commission; Dan Branch, a state representative from Dallas and Ken Paxton, another state rep, from nearby McKinney. They all brand themselves as conservatives — although it’s not yet clear whether they’ll brand each other that way.

What happens occasionally in races for this office is that someone misconstrues — either deliberately or by mistake — what this office is all about.

The AG is the state’s top lawyer. The attorney general represents the state in litigation. His or her office argues for the state in court. The AG, in effect, is a civil litigator.

Every now and then, though, you see an attorney general or someone who wants the job stepping way out of bounds.

Exhibit A has to be the late Jim Mattox, a fiery Democrat who was AG in the 1980s. In 1989, Mattox decided to create a ghastly photo opportunity when the body of a University of Texas student was found in a grave in Matamoros, Mexico. In 1989, Mattox trudged through the mud at the death scene, declaring something to the effect that he would bring whoever committed the crime to justice.

It made for great pictures, except that it was irrelevant. The attorney general’s office would have next to zero influence in determining the outcome of that heinous act.

Of course, that was the year before Mattox launched an unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination for Texas governor, a race won by then-state Treasurer Ann Richards.

Judges do the same thing all the time. They say they’re “tough on crime,” “tough on criminals.” I always thought judges are supposed to be totally without bias for or against either side. They’re supposed to be neutral when they try cases, aren’t they?

Whatever. I still will be waiting for some attorney general candidate along the way in this election cycle to make some kind of grand declaration about what he’ll do to fight crime.

I hope these fellows prove me wrong.

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Talks to head off shutdown to begin … maybe

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., are considered two moderate voices within their respective parties.

They now chair an ad hoc collection of senators called the “Common Sense Caucus.” Their mission is to head off another federal government partial shutdown.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/commonsense-caucus-could-stave-off-second-shutdown-100435.html?hp=t1

Will they succeed? Well, their only chance to succeed will occur if the real negotiators fail to do their job. They have until Dec. 13 to produce a deal to fund the government. That group is led by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. It comprises equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, as charged in the deal that ended the first government shutdown in October.

Personally, I’m not holding my breath for anything substantive. I’m betting they’ll nibble around the edges of the larger issue — which must include a long-term tax increase along with serious budget cuts in programs no one wants to cut, such as Medicare.

Heck, I’m not even holding out for any serious hope Congress can avoid another shutdown.

We’ve seen this act many times already. Everyone says they want to work together. Then they quarrel and bicker, taking the nation to the brink of fiscal collapse.

Collins and Manchin are reasonable folks. So are Murray and Ryan. Among the four of them, can’t they come up with a reasonable long-term solution to this ridiculous spectacle?

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Frenzied shoppers declare war on Christmas

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You almost can set your calendar to it. This time of year brings the usual phony contention that the “liberal media” have declared a “war on Christmas.” The charge comes from the conservative media, led by the Fox News Channel, which keeps harping on the bogus assertion.

They contend that liberals insist we should say “happy holidays” to be sensitive to our non-Christian citizens.

Whatever.

No, the real war on Christmas is being waged on another front.

Check out this link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/28/walmart-fight-black-friday_n_4357939.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037&ir=Politics

Therein lie the actual combatants in this war on Christmas. They are the Black Friday shoppers — and the retailers who promote the daylights out of this event. The morons recorded in the attached videos have done more to sully the sanctity of this holiday than anything the so-called “liberal media” have done or ever will do.

My wife blurted out a suggestion yesterday when she saw some of this hideous behavior being played out. “Lock up anyone charged with a criminal act until after Christmas,” she said. By the looks of some of the videos shown around the world, that could fill our jails to the brim and beyond.

But I get her point.

Jesus Christ himself was known to have a temper. I suspect strongly that the Son of God is quite angry at what has happened to the holiday intended to honor His birth.

As for the conservative media, focus your anger on the real — not the phony — warriors against Christmas.

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GOP platform goofs on red-light cams

Tom Pauken is a smart guy who’s running for Texas governor.

He’s running as a “true conservative,” which means — I am going to presume — that he favors small government and less intrusion into local affairs.

Why, then, does this stalwart Republican say he opposes cities’ authority to install red-light cameras at dangerous intersections? “I support a statewide ban on red-light cameras as prescribed in the Texas Republican Party’s platform,” Pauken said in a recent news release.

What? The party platform opposes cities’ right to act on their own to curb what they believe to be a problem at certain intersections?

Amarillo has deployed these cameras for the past five years. They’ve had mixed success. People are still running red lights, either just blazing through them or taking off from a complete stop to violate the law. The Amarillo City Council, instead of retreating from the strategy to reduce these infractions, has expanded the number of intersections that will be patrolled by the electronic devices. Good job, City Hall.

Back to Pauken’s point about endorsing the GOP platform.

Republicans keep yammering about government interference. They decry “big government” paternalism. They keep saying localities should have the right to determine policy issues. Amarillo acted in its own interest when it decided to activate the cameras. What’s good for Amarillo isn’t good, say, for Lubbock — which once deployed the cameras, only to take them down because too many people griped about them.

By my reckoning, Pauken’s insistence that the GOP platform is correct doesn’t make sense coming from the so-called “true conservative.”

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